Hi hi!

So, I forget if I've brought this up, but I'll do it again since I'm too lazy to check.

I have this new idea for an Overwatch fanfiction. I had a lot of ideas for Atrium, but we all know how that crashed and burned. But, even with the apprehension of watching another story burn, I'd like to try and take another whack at it.

So, I was thinking about, of course, first fixing all of the Mary Sue problems. I think I finally cracked it, even if my new character may seem kinda Mary Sue-ish in the beginning, I think I've made a sure fire way of avoiding falling back into that pit.

With that said, I'd like to ask you, the readers. What do you guys think? Should I go for it? Any pointers, OC ideas, and all that stuff, would be very much appreciated in the reviews!

Anyway, back to Black Butler here.

ONWARDS!

Corvus didn't get it.

Everything was going fine up until yesterday. He was sure that the Surface date was a great step, and judging by Kuro's reaction, she was surely warming up to him.

After the date, he had gotten a real laugh out of her. It wasn't something sadistic, nor was it forced in anyway, it was a true-to-heart laugh.

To be honest, it kinda scared him at first.

But, the moment he woke up, he knew that something was up.

The first clue was that Kuro was up before him.

Of course, when Corvus had gotten back from the capitol meeting, the only thing he was able to note before crashing on the bed was that he was alone in his room, but still, Kuro wasn't often up before he was.

He was used to it by now, her lazy and seemingly random fits of pure and utter laziness, making this a definite first, "Good morning, Kitten."

"Good morning, Corvus."

Yet another red alarm went off in his head.

There was no fight over the nickname. Of course, with recent events, what use to be rather hostile and borderline malicious comebacks had dialed down just a bit, but even then, it was odd for her to just stay there and say nothing.

He rolled over, off of the bed, all while watching Kuro. She just sat there, looking out the window.

With a mischievous grin, Corvus pulled his sleeping shirt off, crawling back onto the bed, before holding her close, "Why the cold shoulder so early in the morning, my Love? Is it because you were denied the blanket?"

She didn't flinch, her breathing didn't hitch; all she did was gently and slowly pulled his arm off of her, still not sparing him a glance.

As his third alarm went off, Corvus grew in both agitation and irritation, just what was going on in her head?

His patience wearing thin, he growled, rolling off the bed to stand in front of her, "What's wrong, Kuro?"

One of those words seemed to snap her out of her trance, causing her to shake her head, rubbing her nose, "Nothing. Sorry about that, I just kinda...you know, spaced out."

Corvus didn't like the sound of that. Was this a sign that she may go into a sort of relapse? He'd made a lot of progress if he were to compare the current Kuro to the past street rat. He wanted anything but backtracking.

Of course, there was also that much smaller part of his, buried deep inside and away, that told him that he didn't want to lose what he had.

This part, as per usual, was largely (thought to be) ignored.

"Do not lie to me, Kitten." Corvus said, almost growling into her ear.

She jumped, startled, before looking away, "It's nothing to concern yourself with."

While he knew that she was lying, he knew better then to keep digging. At this point, there was a much bigger chance that she'd snap and go off on him rather than talk.

Of course, he didn't really have a choice, as a knock came to the door.

He gave the unmoving Kuro one last look, before going to answer the door, a guard on the other side, "Yes, what is it?"

"Prince Corvus, I do apologize for disturbing you at this hour," the guard said, bowing as any guard was expected to in the presence of royalty, "But you're being requested. They've found a body, and since your father is busy, they're asking you to identify it."

To this, Corvus scowled. There was nothing he hated more than feeling as if he were being sent to do someone else's grunt work. Of course, it was different when his father himself issued an order, but this, this was a blow to his own personal dignity, "And why am I being asked to do this? Who do they assume the body to be?"

"They think it to be Cresil, my prince; they assume that he was killed last night."

To this, Corvus' eyebrow rose. He resisted the urge to laugh, it was about time that Rifter-rat Legion had decided to pick up was put down.

With a sigh, he nodded, "I'll be outside to meet my security guards?"

"As always, my prince." the guard bowed once more, before Corvus dismissed him, closing the door.

Sighing, he noticed that Kuro had moved, thankfully, but only to stand outside, leaning on the railing of the balcony.

He quickly got dressed, all the while his mind thought. What could cause a reaction like this, out of nowhere, it would seem?

One idea could be Aranea. With that thought. Corvus scowled, teeth grinding. He'd like to think it was a sort of prideful anger rather than a small but growing selfish craving, but the thought of Aranea with her, much less the idea of him doing something to her…

Corvus must have been louder then he'd first assumed, since he only stopped when Kuro turned to him, eyes holding concern, "What's wrong, Corvus?"

"Nothing." He said, denying anything before his head made up his mind.

to this, for whatever reason, Kuro gave a small and light smile, "Do not lie to me, Crow." She said, mimicking him with a sneer.

To this, Corvus chuckled lightly, "Just slightly irritated."

"With that?' Kuro asked. There was something in her tone he didn't like, but at the same time, he had no idea what it was.

"I'm being summoned to identify a body," Corvus murmured, pulling his coat on. He barely noticed Kuro coming back in, closing the balcony door as she did so, "From what they've gathered, they think that it's Cresil."

"Oh." Kuro murmured, slowly but surely her eyes glazing over. He didn't like it, that expression she held when she was in deep thought. It scared him, to a point.

"I shouldn't be gone for long." Corvus insisted, about to leave.

"Wait!"

Corvus, shocked, turned around, doing as she'd asked. This was sudden, and while he knew that she was certainly the one to try to pull a fast one.

But, from all the things she could have done, he didn't expect her to stand on her tippy toes, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek, "See you soon?"

"I promise." Corvus insisted, placing a quick kiss to the back of her hand, before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

On the other side, he shook his head, mind racing.

There was no way that she'd touch him on her own freewill, let alone kiss his cheek. It took a lot of self-control to ignore how that part of his cheek was still feeling very warm, as well as how that same spot in his chest was pulsing.

No, he thought, as he made his way for the front of the castle, there was something going on.

And he'd be damned if he didn't find anything out.

It had been a long time since she'd felt this constant dread crawling up her spine.

The only thing that her short-span mindset could remember was the perennial apprehension that had yet to leave her alone.

to think, she'd gone from care free and not caring at all to feeling as if the walls now had eyes to watch and mouths to concede.

She shook her head, looking through her closet. Nope, she couldn't stick around here, she'd drown in her own panic.

She'd liked to have thought that the walls closing in on her helped to make the choice to leave and would like nothing more than to leave out the fact that she was scared entirely, but she was never too good at lying to herself.

looking through her closet, she was happy to find yet another hidden gift.

Ever since that stargazing date, for whatever reason, Corvus would leave presents for her in random places of the room. Maybe he knew about her secret treasure hunting passion, not that it mattered, the reaction was always one of surprise and maybe just a bit of...Honestly, she didn't know what to call this oddly warm feeling in her chest.

She refused to call it adoration, she insisted to herself, before pulling the gift out. It was fairly nice, with wrapping paper and everything. She ripped it open, pulling the cover of the box underneath off, a small grin on her face.

Inside was her red hoodie, all nice and folded, as well as a set of what looked to be a casual dark green shirt and black shorts.

Not perfect, but a big leap from the usual "Women should only wear dresses because society".

She quickly changed, still thinking of where to do. Due to the recent talk, seeking out both Arc's help and just general company was the farthest thing from a smart move, so going to the garden and anywhere near that area was a big no-no.

Of course, this also led to cutting out one of the only places that Kuro could really go to just calm down and collect herself.

Another idea that came to mind was to seek out Vanth. It had been a while since she was able to really talk to the young maid, and judging by the usual work load she has, it would do them both some good to just have a small heart-to-heart.

Of course, she'd have to find where the girl was first.

Pulling the hoodie on, it was the first time in a long time that she began to feel just a little more normal. To the thought, she nearly scoffed. Could she really call her past, hanging out in Shax's bar in the day and sniping demons at night, normal? When she was already beginning to get use to this rich and almost carefree life?

She shook the idea away, focusing on the new task at hand. Find Vanth.

With that in mind, she still had little to no idea where to beginning looking. Not that it was a bad thing, if anything, it provided a little bit of adventure, feeling more like the older days.

Wow today really was just a huge nostalgia blast to the face.

Since she assumed the little demon girl to be working, and she's heard in passing conversation between other maids and butlers about a sort of basement/laundry room, she decided to go down and look there first.

She shoved her hands into the hoodie pocket, missing how it felt to walk around like an emo teenager, hood up and everything. The only thing missing were the leather boots and the knife hidden somewhere on her, and she was ready for the Rift.

Making her way around the castle, she couldn't help but shudder at the idea that she now knew where a lot of the places in the castle were located.

She didn't really know how to think about it, honestly. I mean, of course it was nice to know where the kitchen was when she was hungry or just in the mood for a midnight snack, but at the same time, she knew that, with all the crap going on constantly in her head, memorizing the castle layout shouldn't even be the top ten on the list of things to remember.

...With that said, of course, she took a moment to stop, entirely forgetting why she'd gone out in the first place.

Thank Satan that, this time, it took only a few minutes to remember that, hey, I need to find Vanth, so I have someone other than myself to talk to.

A new personal record.

Walking on, she let out a relieved sigh when she finally came across the stairs leading down into what she dubbed the "dungeon".

It was the basement of the castle, where all the servants and seriously dangerous enemies of the crown resided, so with all the torture she knew was going on down there, dungeon just sounded so much better.

She took her sweet time down the stone steps, ignoring how the smell of damp...something permeated the air. Once the stairs sank back into the ground, she looked about. The room split two different ways, one going right and another hidden by a door she knew led to a particular mad scientist's lab.

Of course, the moment she was about to go right, something flash in her head.

If, by sheer dumb luck, Cresil really was dead, then it would make sense for his lab to be untouched. There was no doubt in her mind that Shax and the group did it, and if that turned out to be true, then it also meant that the death was a surprise, one that Cresil didn't plan for.

Thus, everything in his lab, since the death was recent, would still be untouched.

Corvus going out to confirm only gave her more time.

But no, she really shouldn't. She didn't know what it was, but there was something in that room, something in that cage that set off all the red alarms.

So, of course, it also caught her interest. It had been in the back of her mind for the longest time now, just the constant wonder.

What exactly was within that cage?

"Come on, Kuro. You know better than that. There's a reason you were told not to pull the cover back."

"But that's what's alluring, Kuro. You know that no one will be there to stop you, and you'll finally have what most anime fans never get enough of: closure."

"Okay, okay, very funny...But, what if it ends up being some sort of failed experiment that only Cresil can control, but now that he's most likely dead, no one can control it and you let it out and it kills everyone?"

"Okay, one, that's farfetched and you know it. Second of all, you know as well as I do that you want that to happen."

"A fair point, Kuro."

With the problem finally made up, and the spinning headache under control, Kuro nodded, hands gripping the handle. It would be quick, go in, figure out what was in the cage, and leave.

Then she could go back to finding and bothering Vanth.

...Unless something else came up, of course.

Corvus sighed, looking down the street as they pulled a white cover over the body.

He couldn't help but feel just the tiniest bit of bliss when he nodded, confirming that the body was in fact Cresil.

Finally, he wouldn't have to deal with the Rifter rat every time he tried to go anywhere near the first floor.

Day in and day out, Cresil was either in the lab, going on and on about some theory with the king or Legion, or hanging around Arc, which only settled his hatred for them both.

There was no end to the irritation that Cresil seemed to bring with him, and to see him dead on the ground, a red spot between his eyes, those glossed over eyes, it brightened up his day.

From there, it could only go down as his mind wandered back to Kuro.

There was something wrong, he knew it, but he didn't know what it could be.

He was sure he hadn't done anything wrong, everything had been pre-planned and calculated. To make sure everything was right for her, each step, he'd gone to her personal irritating stuttering maid to ask.

He made sure that each visit wasn't a wasted one, he hated it down there.

Of course, if it wasn't him, who else could it be? When he wasn't around, he knew that Kuro liked to spend time in the garden, and the only other person to waste time in there was…

Corvus growled, continuing back to the castle, all while surrounded by his guards.

No one could see the killer look in his dark red eyes, nor the way that his teeth were bared, hands itching to tear something apart.

It was too late to realize it, but if Corvus was right, this game was getting out of hand.

He knew that he shouldn't have fallen, but at the same time, it was bound to happen at one point.

He couldn't really have her under his spell without a chance of her doing the same, albeit unknowingly.

But even the thought of his stupid filthy brother getting close made him growl lightly. How dare he try to take something that belonged to him and him alone.

"My prince?"

Corvus snapped out of it, giving the guard a look, "What?"

"I beg a pardon, your highness; we were just concerned."

"the only thing you should be concerned about is getting me back to the castle in one piece." Corvus spat.

to this, the guard cleared his throat, "I apologize, Prince Corvus; we simply became troubled when you began to...well…"

"Well what?" Corvus growled, glaring the now cowering guard down, "I do not enjoy having my time wasted when I have a lot to do today!"

It was only then that he noticed the almost smoky black coming off of him, with tips of green to make it look like a sort of hellish fire.

Scowling, he willed it away, for the time being, "We must make haste back to the castle."

As they walked on, it took all of Corvus' willpower to keep his anger under control. If the guards could see the rolls of black coming off of him, it must have been bad.

While Satan was a demon of Pride, Corvus didn't exactly have no Wrath. If anything, he could have passed as a filthy mix between both, like his wretched brother.

"Corvus."

And like that, the obscene one himself was before him.

It was wine red against stone cold gold, Aranea being the only one allowed to break the formation, a group of his own behind him, "What's the bird doing out of his pretty little nest?"

"I could ask the same about the spider away from his crevice." Corvus spat.

The action almost made the Spider prince smile, before waving off his own group, all of which dashing out within an instant. Unlike the guard, they were dressed in black, looking to blend in rather than being ready to defend, "Special orders from father; you see, while you get to identify the body, I get to look into it."

"I never took you as the type to lead Cinis." Corvus scowled. He hated many things, he was willing to see that, but Cinis was nothing more than a personal ego booster for Legion.

"Well, if you become king, you'll need Legion's help to run the kingdom," Aranea said, seeming as indifferent as always, "Father says that I will achieve Cinis."

"Which will still be under my command." Corvus shot back.

Once again, just a little bit of a smile entered Aranea's eyes, "Don't you mean Legion, dear brother?"

"Face it, you haven't been the best when it comes to management. You may hold the title, but nothing else. If prophecy comes to place and our King falls to the might of Heaven above, all you'll get is a crown and a throne. You're be a place keeper."

"At least I get the girl." Corvus said, almost sneering.

He was ready to push on, ignore the irritating bug, only to be caught off guard.

"And how can you be so sure?"

This made Corvus stop, "...What do you speak of?"

"As I said, you'll have it all, while having nothing at all." Aranea said, the end of his mouth curved upwards ever so slightly, "You might be mated and bonded to her, but how do you know you have her, mind and body? I've been forced with you since day one. I know that one thing that'll bother you to no end is knowing that you don't fully own something; or in this case, someone."

"You know nothing." Corvus spat, growling. He could see the black rolling off of him, but he chose to ignore it, advancing to push Aranea back, almost childishly, "She will be mine."

Instead of pushing back, like he was expecting, Aranea only laughed, "I didn't think she'd be able to do it, unintentionally at that?"

"Would you quit talking like Legion?" Corvus said, so far past irritated.

"She's managed to snare your black heart, hasn't she?"

This made Corvus stop. Yes, of course she had, but to admit it out loud would be to admit defeat, to his brother no less.

"There is nothing wrong with that," Aranea went on, "She managed to do the same for me, but I was willing to accept it much faster than you."

"What do the humans call it...Ah, yes, 'love'." Aranea murmured, making air quotes, "It can take someone over, can't it? It makes some uncontrollable, some filled with enmity while others feel nothing but lunacy. Or, maybe, in some cases, both."

"Leave." Corvus managed through his stiff expression. He no longer wanted to be here, out in the open, speaking to his brother.

If they were to fight, he wanted it within the castle, with no interference.

Aranea smirked, giving a mock bow, "Of course, King Corvus; you're very wish, my command." Aranea murmured, before walking off, ignoring on lookers.

Now that Corvus looked around, he noticed the small but noticeable crowd of demons, looking on. With one glare, they scattered, causing a sneer to his face, "Like roaches under foot." Corvus muttered, before walking on.

He could feel his control slipping, any moment now, he'd explode and begin to crumble in pieces.

To the thought, Corvus growled, holding his forehead.

She was going to be the death of him, he knew it.

With the lights off, it resembled a Frankenstein movie set more than an actual lab.

Of course, there was no real difference, besides that odd spooky factor.

Kuro looked around, looking for any source of light, before sighing when she found none. The only source of light came from the ajar door, which would have to remain open since it would be the only way for her to be able to see anything in the room.

Looking around, it didn't look had anything had really changed. Everything was still undeniably messy, but unlike the last time, she gave some of the papers on the tables a better look.

Some looked like important records and documents, written in calligraphy so fancy Kuro wasn't going to bother to try and read it. Others looked like blueprints for diabolical machines that would never come to reality.

One of those blueprints caught her eye. She'd seen it during her contract on the surface, but even then, this form of capital punishment had been, in a way, outlawed.

It looked like an old-fashioned gallows-thingy, the only difference was the rope used. In the designs for them, they seemed to be regular rope, but with something weaved into it, like dark red glass.

"I don't know if that's kinky, cruel, or both." Kuro shuddered, pushing it away, before looking over to the cage.

She could see the bottom of the sheet ruffling, which was odd since there was no way for a draft to get in without going through the door she stood in front of.

Kuro slowly approached it, hand reaching out. All she had to do was tear away the curtain, and after, she could leave.

Her imagination went wild, what could it be in the cage? Of course, the idea of some experiment was a very large and possible idea, but what else could give off this...odd feeling?

It was uncomfortable to a point. Or maybe just odd, with a touch of deja vu.

She shook her head, hands gripping the white sheet. She didn't know what the feeling was, so at the moment, it didn't matter.

Not that she was close enough, she noticed something dark red sprinkled over the sheet, and almost recoiled when she realized what it was, "Cresil had a serious thing for shards, didn't he?" She muttered, dusting it off of her hand.

She made a mental note to bring up shard dust later on when she went over to the bar, maybe Shax and Vale could use it for something, like some sort of smoke bomb.

She lightly tugged the sheet, and only then did the feeling grow. It was like an unknown song roaring into her ears, to the point where she'd do anything for it to stop. It had gone from a sort of fleeting dream into a nightmare.

This almost made her back out of the room. If just tugging the sheet made this happen, who knew what was under those sheets?

She shook her head, no, she was this close. She'd already submitted her fear to the King, she was not about to do the same against a fucking birdcage.

She finally ripped away the white sheets, only to gasp, jumping back as she did so.

Within the cage, on his knees, was an angel.

He was dressed in what looked to be ripped toga, his white hair hid his face. He looked to be breathing, albeit very slowly, as if he were dying on the spot.

So, like any other normal demon, Kuro did the obvious thing.

Finding a metal pipe on the ground, Kuro picked it up, before poking the angel with it.

The horrid shriek of a sound made Kuro jump back, pipe forgotten.

Those eyes, amethyst-colored eyes, they scared her to a point. The expression the angel held was one that only someone who'd been pushed off the edge of insanity could hold. He began shouting something, but Kuro wasn't too sure what it was. It was like many overlapping languages coming out of his mouth at the same time.

All Kuro could do was watch with wide eyes. Out of everything it could have been, it had to be the bane of demons. She swore that she was beginning to feel faint. None of this felt right, either she needed to leave before she somehow died, or this angel was going to have to go.

Finally, it cleared it throat, before shouting, "You, you did this, you wretched fallen one!" The angel spat, his voice hurting Kuro's ears to a point, "We should have killed you instead, when we had a chance!"

"Huh?" Was all Kuro could manage, giving the crazed angel an odd look.

He went back to babbling, hugging his knees and rocking back and forth, most likely cursing her in some other tongue. All the while, Kuro could only stare.

Like fairytales for children, there were many bedtimes stories passed around for demon children. Even on the streets, there would be that one old man telling stories to all the kids in that particular area, probably to make sure that they wouldn't try to steal his shoes during the night.

But, for some reason, none of them seemed to really fit this twig of an angel. His limbs were so skinny and frail, skin looking as if it were almost hanging off of the bone.

but even then, he still held an air of...authority, maybe?

No, that wasn't the right word...It was as if he was…

...Nagging?

"How dare you ignore me!"

Yep, definitely nagging.

"Oh, shut it birdbrain." Kuro muttered. Honestly, the cage looked uncomfortable. He could only sit if he hugged his knees, his wings took up the rest of the space.

It was then that she wondered, if Corvus was an angel, would he look like...This?

The angel scowled, giving her a look, "What did you say, you insolent fallen one?"

"I told you to be quiet, you loud pompous piece of white trash." Kuro scowled.

For a second, something cold, almost familiar, ran down her spine. Her eyes went wide as the angel began to glow.

Kuro backed up, hand shading over her eyes. The glow that the angel was giving off made her skin feel as if it were blistering, which was quite the feet since she was used to the hot temperatures of Hell.

When the light died down, Kuro dared to look over her hands, only to gasp. The birdcage was now just a bubbling puddle under the rising angel's feet, his expression one that could have killed.

"Oh, look at who's silent now," the angel drawled, stepping out of the remains of his prison. His wingspan was a bit shorter then Corvus', but still did its job to make him look bigger, more menacing.

And being how the dude already had two feet on her, that was something he really didn't need.

Kuro backed up, looking around the lab, before quickly picking up the same metal pipe from earlier, holding it out like a sword.

It was a sad piece of crap, but better than nothing.

"Oh, how we've fallen from grace." The angel went on, stepping out of the goo. If the pipe Kuro was holding looked threatening, the angel really wasn't letting it on, "Well, one more than the other."

"Would you quit trying to be all mysterious and cryptic?" Kuro scowled. There was a fire behind the angel's eyes, an intensity that she really didn't like.

She couldn't help but feel that this angel was worse than any demon she'd ever faced.

Kuro jolted when the angel lunged forth, ducking away seconds before his hands could find their way around her neck, "Aww, I didn't think something like you would ever back away from a challenge." the angel said, almost mockingly.

Kuro couldn't help but growl, trying to put up and out a tough stance, even though she was slowly and unknowingly backing out of the room, "One more smart word, I dare you, I'll rip your wings off and…You know what, no, I'm above KFC references."

Kuro was thrown back when the angel brought its wings down, the gust of wind throwing Kuro out of the room, tossing her to the steps.

Kuro let out a gasp, the wind knocked out of her lungs, her vision growing droopy. She groaned, holding her head, fighting the urge to vomit.

Maybe it was angel fever, or some sort of affect angels had on demons, all she knew for sure was that there was no way for her to be able to take on this servant of God.

When Kuro's vision came through, the angel was on her, much too close to her face for her own liking, "Tu crevit, maiori." He murmured.

Kuro, not being fluent in whatever language he was speaking, made a break to bite his finger, only to have him smack her cheek, "Tell me where your King is, little Kitten."

"What?"

"You heard me, loud and clear." the angel scowled, a foot coming down on Kuro's mid-section. to this, Kuro cried out, eyes squeezed shut, "It's the whole reason I came down here on my own in the first place."

"All I have to do is kill your king, and God will let me back." The angel murmured, sounding like he was talking to himself more than anyone, "One slip up, that's all I made. But, unlike you, I have a chance to redeem myself. Now, tell me where he is!"

Before Kuro could spit some sassy bullshit, go on and on about how Satan was out on a picnic with his friends Buddha and a unicorn, the angel stopped. Scowling, he looked up the stairs, eyes narrowed, before booking it the other way, towards the basement laundry room.

Seconds later, Kuro could hear footsteps coming down, she herself pushing herself up against the wall. She would have fallen the moment that got all the way upright, if it hadn't been for someone catching her.

"What are you doing down here!?" Corvus exclaimed, holding her close as he attempted to help her stand up straight.

All Kuro could do was shake her head, pointing to the basement, "...Angel…"

Corvus shook his head, before turning to the stairs. He shouted something, and within seconds, a whole mob of guards came down, rushing into the basement laundry room.

Kuro could hear some distinct screams from the maids in there, before Corvus gathered her up in his arms, carrying her bridal style up the stairs.

"I came back as soon as possible," She heard Corvus say, "Went to the room, you weren't there. Do you know that panic it threw me into?"

"I'm sorry." Kuro muttered, going unheard as Coruvs went on with his rant.

"And then, I hear from some maids that you had gone down to the basement. but no, not to do laundry, but to go into Cresil' lab."

"Corvus-."

"So, with the guard with me, I got down here as fast as I could. Do you know why we had to move his lab down here? His first week here, the floor his lab was on wasn't safe for anyone. Every week, we'd have servants and maids dying, all reasons from some sort of chemicalized gas to an experiment gone wrong. What were you thinking, going down there alone!?"

"If you're so mad at me, just drop me!" Kuro shouted, ready to go on, until she saw the look on his face.

She'd seen a lot, but she never thought she'd see the day when Corvus looked so distraught. He looked like he was stuck between sad and angry, leaning towards one side more than the other.

Once they were out of the stairway, Corvus let her stand, but still held her close, "Never in my life, Lilim Kuro Akuhei, have I been so terrified for someone else's welfare."

"...I'm sorry." Her voice came out muffled against his chest.

"No, don't apologize." Corvus murmured, running a hand through her hair, being mindful of the ears, "Just...It's not on you."

For the moment, she stood there, allowing Corvus to do what he had to. Not that she really had a choice at the moment, with how Satan seemed to be breathing down her shoulder; but, if she were honest, this was almost...Nice.

Enjoyable, even.

It all ended when someone behind them cleared their throat.

Kuro's small feeling of slight relief was replaced with embarrassment, as she impulsively pushed Corvus away, "Arc. Hey."

"Evening, to the both of you." He said formally, bowing to kiss Kuro's hand.

Of course, that was enough to make Corvus snap, as he pulled Kuro back, "Hands off."

"Maybe you don't realize this, Crow," Arc went on, not seeming to care much about the almost animalistic expression on Corvus' face, "But she is not an item to be kept on a pedestal. She has her own mind, let her make her own choices."

Before Corvus could do or say anything, Kuro grabbed Corvus' arm, giving the two of them a look, "Come on, I just got out of the basement of horrors, but if I had to choose, I'd go back down there in a heartbeat if it meant that you two would quit turning everything into a dick measuring contest!"

With a finally huff, she proceeded to drag Corvus back to their room, ignoring the spider prince, even as he shouted his apologies after them, "I can't believe you two sometimes."

"You jumped temperaments quickly." Corvus muttered, allowing her to pull him along.

"You got to be able to change quickly, time isn't gonna stop for you, rich or poor." Kuro muttered, "You learn that in the streets."

the rest of the trip was really just a blur to Corvus. Kuro would speak on and on for one moment, and then the next, she'd be dead silent, as if regretting what she had just said, only to go back to talking a flash later.

But, as much of a wall Kuro was trying to put up, Corvus could see that it was one quickly made. There were many cracks, as if it had either been put up hastily or was often broken down with no sign of repair.

It was like looking into a broken mirror. Trying to convince yourself that, whatever you see in the shattered pieces of glass held together, was reality.

It was...odd, too say the least.

There was a lot that was off with her as of recent, that much was easy enough to put together. If he could figure out why, then he could fix it.

Till then, all he could do is wait until she fell apart and attempt to help put her back together.

MY GOD IT TOOK A LONG TIME FOR ME TO FINISH THIS.

I had it all written out, but then on Thursday the document refused to open, so I got to re-write it.

Long story short, I think Microsoft Word hates me.

So, once again, I feel like I've hinted to this, but since I'm too lazy to look through it all, I'll just say it again.

I was diagnose with ADHD a while ago.

I personally don't see it as a crutch, if anything, it's great. I'm able to notice everything and I'm very rarely bored. Of course, it's hard for me to concentrate at times, but I've learned to work with it after a while.

It's great when I meet other people with ADHD, since it feels like I can connect to them. There aren't many that can think like me, so in a lot of my conversations with friends, I'm always all over the place, but they don't mind cause I'm funny and can't stop cracking jokes to save my life.

So, too meet someone that thinks like me, it's great.

I could honestly say that ADHD is a reason I enjoy writing on Fanfiction. I love typing out stories, making characters that talk, act and think like me. It only got better when I found out that there were people out there that read what I had to say and enjoyed it.

So, this chapter is dedicated to ADHD...

...I have no idea where to go from here.

...So...Do you guys like jazz? XD

But, back to it, I hope you guys enjoyed, this chapter is really dedicated to a special little reviewer who was open with me. I'm proud of you my dude, I know how hard it is to admit it, especially to a stranger, and for that, I've gotta applaud you. I wear it like a badge and use it to play things off, but you...I have no words.

Much respect.

Anywho, hope you guys enjoyed, feel free to leave ideas and thoughts in the reviews, and I'll see you guys next chappie!

Till then, bai bai!